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Illegitimate children of Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley
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Steve Wilson
Mar 2, 2014, 2:02:36 PM3/2/14
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In the Oxford DNB article biography of Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley (1543/6 - 1621), it is mentioned that, in addition to nine legitimate children by his wife Margaret Seton, Lord Claud also fathered at least two illegitimate children. After consulting the usual sources, I've been unable to identify these illegitimate children or any mistresses who might have been their mothers. Does anyone know of any sources which might provide more information?
I am interested because I am currently researching the Hamilton family of Blackhole (a property in Paisley), whose earliest documented ancestor is a Claud Hamilton (d. 1642), merchant, burgess, and bailie of Paisley. His children were married in the 1630s and 1640s, so I tentatively place his birth in the 1580s or 1590s. The property of Blackhole was acquired in 1617 and had previously belonged to the Stewarts of Gallowhill and Blackhole.
While the given name Claud appears in other branches of the Hamilton family (e.g. those of Raploch, Cochno, and Innerwick), the Blackhole family's connection to Paisley seems potentially significant.
Any thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.
I am interested because I am currently researching the Hamilton family of Blackhole (a property in Paisley), whose earliest documented ancestor is a Claud Hamilton (d. 1642), merchant, burgess, and bailie of Paisley. His children were married in the 1630s and 1640s, so I tentatively place his birth in the 1580s or 1590s. The property of Blackhole was acquired in 1617 and had previously belonged to the Stewarts of Gallowhill and Blackhole.
While the given name Claud appears in other branches of the Hamilton family (e.g. those of Raploch, Cochno, and Innerwick), the Blackhole family's connection to Paisley seems potentially significant.
Any thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.
jhigg...@yahoo.com
Mar 2, 2014, 6:08:40 PM3/2/14
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1) James, m. (contract 9 Sept 1595) Margaret Hamilton, heiress of Cander [sic]. She appears on pp. 227-28 of the book, where the descendants of the marriage are shown.
2) Mary, living 18 Dec 1596 when she received a bequest from her father's sister the Countess of Eglinton.
The same book discusses Claud Hamilton of Blackhall [= Blackhole?], bailie of Paisley 1623, and his descendants for 3 generations on pages 148-149. It does not give any parentage for Claud Hamilton, the first of the family.
The book is available on microfilm via the FHL in SLC.
Kelsey Jackson Williams
Mar 3, 2014, 7:05:24 AM3/3/14
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Dear Steve (et al.),
I'd also be a little wary of giving too much weight to the combination of onomastics and geographical propinquity, as tempting as it seems. It wasn't uncommon for families to give their children given names derived from the onomastic fund of a senior or prominent family with the same surname and this was, I suspect, a tendency only increased if the two families were living in the same area. As an example, an aunt and niece, both with the unusual given name "Vear", appear in a Menzies family resident in Dull, Perthshire, in the 1710s-1730s. There's no doubt that they were named after Vere Kerr, mother of Anna Campbell who married Captain James Menzies, 1st of Comrie (a younger son of the head of the family, resident in the adjacent parish of Weem), not long before 1694, but the two women are only very distantly related to their namesake, sharing a common ancestor with James of Comrie in the early seventeenth century. If Claud Hamilton had a mercantile background have you looked for links to Glasgow or other mercantile centres in the west of Scotland?
All the best,
Kelsey
scotsgenealogist.com
I'd also be a little wary of giving too much weight to the combination of onomastics and geographical propinquity, as tempting as it seems. It wasn't uncommon for families to give their children given names derived from the onomastic fund of a senior or prominent family with the same surname and this was, I suspect, a tendency only increased if the two families were living in the same area. As an example, an aunt and niece, both with the unusual given name "Vear", appear in a Menzies family resident in Dull, Perthshire, in the 1710s-1730s. There's no doubt that they were named after Vere Kerr, mother of Anna Campbell who married Captain James Menzies, 1st of Comrie (a younger son of the head of the family, resident in the adjacent parish of Weem), not long before 1694, but the two women are only very distantly related to their namesake, sharing a common ancestor with James of Comrie in the early seventeenth century. If Claud Hamilton had a mercantile background have you looked for links to Glasgow or other mercantile centres in the west of Scotland?
All the best,
Kelsey
scotsgenealogist.com
Steve Wilson
Mar 4, 2014, 1:30:30 PM3/4/14
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On Sunday, March 2, 2014 6:08:40 PM UTC-5, jhigg...@yahoo.com wrote:
> "A History of the House of Hamilton", by Lt.-Col. George Hamilton (1933) identifies the two illegitimate children of Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley on p. 34 as:
>
> 1) James, m. (contract 9 Sept 1595) Margaret Hamilton, heiress of Cander [sic]. She appears on pp. 227-28 of the book, where the descendants of the marriage are shown.
>
> 2) Mary, living 18 Dec 1596 when she received a bequest from her father's sister the Countess of Eglinton.
>
> The same book discusses Claud Hamilton of Blackhall [= Blackhole?], bailie of Paisley 1623, and his descendants for 3 generations on pages 148-149. It does not give any parentage for Claud Hamilton, the first of the family.
>
> The book is available on microfilm via the FHL in SLC.
Thanks for the information. I'll see what I can do about obtaining "A History of the House of Hamilton."
> "A History of the House of Hamilton", by Lt.-Col. George Hamilton (1933) identifies the two illegitimate children of Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley on p. 34 as:
>
> 1) James, m. (contract 9 Sept 1595) Margaret Hamilton, heiress of Cander [sic]. She appears on pp. 227-28 of the book, where the descendants of the marriage are shown.
>
> 2) Mary, living 18 Dec 1596 when she received a bequest from her father's sister the Countess of Eglinton.
>
> The same book discusses Claud Hamilton of Blackhall [= Blackhole?], bailie of Paisley 1623, and his descendants for 3 generations on pages 148-149. It does not give any parentage for Claud Hamilton, the first of the family.
>
> The book is available on microfilm via the FHL in SLC.
The Hamilton property in Paisley does seem to have actually been called "Blackhoill" or "Blackhole," as discussed in "Saint Mirin: A Historical Account of [...] Paisley":
http://books.google.com/books?id=Lz4PAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=blackhole+maxwell+paisley&source=bl&ots=BZJqiY2pYQ&sig=8kAzQ0YC5AE8bcqlZs4lnjkaT2E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vxgWU-_VI6SU0QGSnYHwDg&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=blackhole&f=false
A charter for the property was granted to William Stewart by John Hamilton, Abbot of Paisley, in 1541. One of his descendants disposed of the property in 1617, when it was purchased by Claud Hamilton. As far as I can tell, the last Hamilton who held the property was Claud Hamilton, son of John and grandson of the first Claud. He died in 1673 and his widow Elizabeth Sempill married John Maxwell, a merchant and bailie of Paisley, later that year. This John Maxwell styled himself "of Blackhole" despite having dubious legal claims to the property.
Steve Wilson
Mar 4, 2014, 2:08:22 PM3/4/14
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On Monday, March 3, 2014 7:05:24 AM UTC-5, Kelsey Jackson Williams wrote:
> Dear Steve (et al.),
>
> I'd also be a little wary of giving too much weight to the combination of onomastics and geographical propinquity, as tempting as it seems. It wasn't uncommon for families to give their children given names derived from the onomastic fund of a senior or prominent family with the same surname and this was, I suspect, a tendency only increased if the two families were living in the same area. As an example, an aunt and niece, both with the unusual given name "Vear", appear in a Menzies family resident in Dull, Perthshire, in the 1710s-1730s. There's no doubt that they were named after Vere Kerr, mother of Anna Campbell who married Captain James Menzies, 1st of Comrie (a younger son of the head of the family, resident in the adjacent parish of Weem), not long before 1694, but the two women are only very distantly related to their namesake, sharing a common ancestor with James of Comrie in the early seventeenth century. If Claud Hamilton had a mercantile background have you looked for links to Glasgow or other mercantile centres in the west of Scotland?
>
> All the best,
>
> Kelsey
>
> scotsgenealogist.com
Thanks for your thoughts, Kelsey. The Hamiltons of Blackhole don't seem to have been very numerous. I can only find record of the first Claud having had three children:
> Dear Steve (et al.),
>
> I'd also be a little wary of giving too much weight to the combination of onomastics and geographical propinquity, as tempting as it seems. It wasn't uncommon for families to give their children given names derived from the onomastic fund of a senior or prominent family with the same surname and this was, I suspect, a tendency only increased if the two families were living in the same area. As an example, an aunt and niece, both with the unusual given name "Vear", appear in a Menzies family resident in Dull, Perthshire, in the 1710s-1730s. There's no doubt that they were named after Vere Kerr, mother of Anna Campbell who married Captain James Menzies, 1st of Comrie (a younger son of the head of the family, resident in the adjacent parish of Weem), not long before 1694, but the two women are only very distantly related to their namesake, sharing a common ancestor with James of Comrie in the early seventeenth century. If Claud Hamilton had a mercantile background have you looked for links to Glasgow or other mercantile centres in the west of Scotland?
>
> All the best,
>
> Kelsey
>
> scotsgenealogist.com
1) John, who succeeded his father in the property, and was active in Paisley as a merchant and bailie
2) Another son, James, of whom I have few details
3) A daughter, Marion, who married Robert Alexander of Paisley, Boghall, and Blackhouse. Her descendants, while still active in Paisley, seem to have also shifted their attentions to Glasgow and Edinburgh, but I can find no meaningful Hamilton connections in either place. Robert Alexander himself was a writer, town clerk and baillie of Paisley, and was admitted burgess and guild brother of Glasgow in the 1640s "for service done by him in clenging of the foull housess in this towne." For what it's worth, his grandfather and namesake was chamberlain to Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley, in 1597.
The eldest son of Marion Hamilton and Robert Alexander, James Alexander, received an M.A. from the University of Glasgow in 1653 and was for several years minister of Kilmalcolm, Renfrewshire, and also inherited the Blackhouse property near Ayr. Their other son, Claud, was styled "of Newton" (in Paisley) and seems to have confined his activities mostly to Paisley. The children of James, of Blackhouse, included Robert, a principal clerk of session in Edinburgh; John, a merchant, burgess, and guild brother of Glasgow; a daughter Jean married to William Greenlees of Auchlamont (Paisley) and Alan Walkinshaw of Orchard; other daughters Elizabeth and Mary; and another daughter Anne or Agnes, probably married to James Knox of a Glasgow mercantile family with ancestral ties to Kilbarchan parish in Renfrewshire.
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